Penne with Sausage, Onion and Cranberry Sauce

I got this recipe here when trying to find easy recipes using fresh cranberries.  It is SO good!!!!!  You'd never guess there's cranberry in it until you run into a little piece of one and I used double the amount called for even!  I used orange juice in place of the sherry just because it was what I had on hand.

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Penne with Sausage, Onion and Cranberries
1/2 pound dried penne or other small pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
5 links sweet Italian sausage, sliced or crumbled
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup dry Sherry
3/4 cup chicken stock, preferably low-sodium or homemade
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup pasta water

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and add the onion. When the onion is soft and translucent, add the cranberries, sausage, basil and oregano.
2. Cook until the sausage begins to brown and the cranberries are popping. Add the Sherry and turn the heat up to medium. Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove and cooked-on bits. Once the Sherry is reduced by at least half, add the chicken stock and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the sauce is a bit tart for your taste, you can add 1/2-1 tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it.
3. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, add the pasta water to thin the sauce. Toss the pasta and the sauce and serve.

Ham and Swiss Skillet

I've made this twice.  The first time I used link sausage and the second time I used ham like the recipe says.  I prefer it with ham but Hunter wasn't sure which one he liked better.  It was a hit with the whole family for sure both times!

This is a Gooseberry Patch Recipe.

Skillet Ham and Cheese

1/4 C onion, chopped

1/3C green onion, chopped

1/4C butter, melted

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 C milk

2 C cooked ham, cubed

8 oz macaroni, uncooked

1 C sour cream

1 C swiss cheese

Saute onions and peppers in butter until tender.  Stir in flour and salt.  Gradually whisk in milk.  Add ham and macaroni.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Mix in sour cream and cheese.  Heat through and serve.

Spicy Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

This is another Kraft recipe found here.  I made it with whole wheat lasagna noodles and to make it again I'd use regular plus lots more sauce.

what you need
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 tsp.  Italian seasoning
1 tsp. Crushed red pepper
3 cups  shredded or chopped cooked chicken
2 cups KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/2 cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Eggs, beaten
12   Lasagna noodles, cooked, rinsed and drained
make it
HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX first 3 ingredients; combine 1/2 cup with chicken, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and eggs. Spread 1/4 cup onto each noodle; roll up.

SPREAD 1/2 cup of the remaining sauce mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with lasagna rolls (seam-sides down), remaining sauce mixture and mozzarella.

BAKE 25 min. or until heated through.

Cheesy Chicken & Salsa Skillet

Another kraft recipe.  This one can be found here.  I used more pasta and tomatoes than called for just because the little ones love noodles and will pick out green peppers so it made the balance better for us:)

what you need

2 cups multi-grain penne pasta, uncooked

1 lb.  Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1-1/4 cups TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

1 cup  Frozen corn, thawed

1 large Green pepper, cut into short thin strips

1 cup  KRAFT Mexican Style 2% Milk Finely Shredded Four Cheese

make it

COOK pasta as directed on package.
MEANWHILE, heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 2 min. Stir in salsa, corn and peppers. Bring to boil. Simmer on medium-low heat 10 min. or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally.
DRAIN pasta. Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly. Top with cheese. Remove from heat; cover. Let stand 1 min. or until cheese is melted.

Black Bean Pasta Salad

I kinda threw this together to use up things and it was really good!!

8 ounces smallish pasta(I used medium shells)
1/2 cup miracle whip--this was just to use up the last of a jar but could be removed without any effect I think
16 ounces salsa
2 cups cheese--I used half colby jack/monterey jack and half mozzarella
1 can black beans--I used leftover beans from our black bean burrito night

Boil pasta, cool completely then throw the rest in stir and put in the fridge to let the flavors mix.  I left it in an hour but anywhere up to a day would work fine:)

Tortellini soup

I took a recipe from thefrugalgirl.com and modified it to use what I had on hand.  The neighbor gave us the BEST carrots and I used green onions from our garden.  I saw the first tomato starting to turn red so it won't be long and the tomatoes will be fresh and homegrown too.

1 pound sausage(I used bulk natural breakfast sausage)
1 medium onion(or green onion)
1 clove garlic(I used three but we loooove garlic)
5 cups broth...for this I used 5 cups water and 5 chicken boullion cubes from the mega pack I bought at Sams
1 can tomatoes(about two cups)...diced, stewed...whatever kind
8 ounce tomato sauce
1 cup sliced carrots
1 medium pepper(I used half of a yellow bell pepper)
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano(I used a good amount of italian seasoning for this and basil)
1/2 cup red wine(thought I had an open one but it wasn't so 1/2 a cup went in the pot and a big glass went with me for lunch)
16 ounces of frozen tortellini...originally this called for 8 ounces of fresh or 4 of dry(cooked before adding) but with a 3 year old and 1 year old the more pasta the better, right?

Brown the first three ingredients.  Throw in the rest except for the wine and tortellini and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the tortellini and wine, cook for 1-3 minutes(I did four just to be sure the tortellini was done).  Serve.  Yum!  I meant to throw on some parsley at the end since mom gave us a huge plant but the wine made me forget.  ;o)

Bow Tie Pepperoni Pasta Salad

I made this early in the day to go with dinner but the kids had a light lunch so they ate almost the whole bowl!  They said it tasted just like pizza:)

16 ounces bow tie pasta
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package pepperoni
1 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
Directions
1 Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
2 Add Bow Tie Pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or all dente; drain.
3 While pasta is boiling, brown pepperoni in skillet until crisp on both sides and place on paper towels to absorb the grease.
4 Toss pasta with pepperoni, italian dressing, parmesian cheese and italian seasoning.

Artichoke Hearts and White Beans with Pasta

This was from this dairy free website.  I am not dairy free but the recipe fit with the beans and artichokes I wanted to use and I'm so glad I did!  Even when it was done I was worried we wouldn't like it but the only complaint came from Justin because he didn't like the artichokes but they were easily picked around :o)  I used dried beans and they were way softer than I'd wanted so with stirring they became mush...tasty mush though:)

Artichoke Hearts and White Beans with Pasta
Serves 4
1 tablespoon garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, with juice
1 can white beans
1 cup cooked pasta shells [use your favorite GF pasta for gluten-free]
Saute garlic and onion in deep skillet over medium heat for five minutes in
olive oil.
Add lemon juice, simmer for two minutes.
Add artichoke hearts with juice and simmer for another five minutes until
sauce is opaque.
Lower heat to medium low. Add white beans and cover skillet, allowing ten
minutes of cooking time. Add cooked pasta shells, mixing well. Serve with
red pepper flakes and [vegan "parmesan"] if desired.

Quick Pasta Carbonara

We all loved this! Definitely a keeper recipe!

PREP 20 min.
MAKES 4 servings
COST PER SERVING = $0.94*
what you need
½ lb. medium-size pasta
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
4 oz. (½ of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
½ cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
¾ cup milk
1 cup frozen or canned peas
½ tsp. garlic powder
make it
COOK pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large skillet until crisp; remove with slotted spoon to paper towels, reserving 2 Tbsp. drippings in skillet.
ADD remaining ingredients to drippings; cook on low heat until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended and heated through.
DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add cream cheese sauce and bacon; mix lightly.

Italian Mac

I had a feeling we'd love this and sure enough it went over great. Justin had three helpings! This was listed on a frugal website and it ended upcosting me about $6.50 to make with the rising price of groceries. I didn't layer this like the recipe says because I was in a rush...I just put the meat then the mac n cheese and then the mozzarella and it turned out great:)

Italian Mac Recipe
2 boxes Mac & Cheese

1lb hamburger

1 small onion diced

1/2 green pepper diced

1 16oz can spaghetti sauce

1 package (2 cups) mozzarella

Make mac&cheese according to package directions. Brown hamburger, onion, and pepper. Drain and add spaghetti sauce. In a 9x13 baking dish layer hamburger mixture, then mac &cheese, then mozzarella. (I use a 1 cup measuring cup and spread it out evenly). End layers with a cheese layer. Everything is already cooked so bake at 350 until cheese is as melted or browned as your family prefers. Serve with Salad .